Yankees Rivalry Roundup: Rays blank Jays, Astros win series in DC

After taking a frustrating loss on Saturday, the Yankees bounced back on Sunday, picking up a 5-1 win and a series victory against the White Sox in Chicago. They didn’t rack up the hits, recording just two, but they got enough (as was a theme for the day across baseball), considering that Nestor Cortes was excellent once again on the mound, allowing one run in eight innings.

As the Yankees were adding another win to their league-best record, the rest of MLB was in action on Sunday. Let’s check in on some of the Bombers’ competition in today’s Rivalry Roundup.

Tampa Bay Rays (21-14) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (18-17)

All of the run-scoring action in this one was condensed to one half inning of action that decided the game. With two on and one out, the Rays’ Harold Ramírez grounded a ball that was fielded by Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman. Attempting to start a potential inning-ending double play, Chapman bounced his throw past Santiago Espinal, scoring a run. An Alek Manoah wild pitch and a Ji-Man Choi single each added another run, and Tampa Bay ended up getting all the runs they would need. After 4.2 scoreless inning by Jeffrey Springs, the Rays’ bullpen, featuring Matt Wisler, J.P. Feyereisen, Colin Poche, and Andrew Kittredge, combined to end the game, allowing just one hit and one walk in the last 4.1 innings.

Texas Rangers (14-19) vs. Boston Red Sox (13-21)

The Red Sox may have won their first series since early April, but they couldn’t finish off a sweep in Texas. Boston actually opened the scoring in this one, taking the lead on Rafael Devers’ RBI double in the top of the fifth. However, Texas proceeded to take control with a trio of home runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Kole Calhoun hit two, while Adolis García hit a three-run shot to break the game open for the Rangers. García added a two-run home run later in the game to give Texas some more breathing room. Former Red Sox starter Martín Pérez was good on the mound against his former team, striking out seven in six strong innings.

Minnesota Twins (20-15) vs. Cleveland Guardians (16-17)

Continuing with the day’s theme of not needing a large amount of hits to win, the Twins picked up a divisional win despite recording just four hits on the day. Max Kepler, Gio Urshela, and Byron Buxton all drove home runs, with Urshela and Buxton each hitting a solo homer.

José Ramírez was responsible for the Guardians’ only run of the game, hitting a solo shot of his own. Minnesota’s Joe Ryan gave the Twins six solid innings before their bullpen allowed just two combined hits to finish off the win.

Houston Astros (23-12) vs. Washington Nationals (12-24)

For awhile, it looked like the Nats would hang around with the Astros, but Houston broke the game open late, scoring eight runs from the fifth inning on. Washington’s Patrick Corbin matched Justin Verlander zero-for-zero through four, but Martín Maldonado began the scoring with a homer in the fifth, and the floodgates opened after that. Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCormick, and Jose Altuve all added home runs of their own as Houston picked up a series win.